


Dear Medusa. (Medusa! Reader x Yandere! Perseus) [Original Story/Characters based on Greek Mythology]

by mewQ



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Greek Mythology, Original Work, reader insert - Fandom
Genre: Ancient Greece, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Romance, Angst and Tragedy, Athena Parthenos (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), F/M, Fantasy, Gods, Medusa - Freeform, Mild Smut, Monsters, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Original Fiction, POV Alternating, POV Multiple, POV Original Character, POV Second Person, Poseidon - Freeform, Reader x Yandere, Reader-Insert, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Romance, Twelve Gods of Olympus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Yandere, mature - Freeform, medusa x perseus, reader - Freeform, reader X
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:28:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22444093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mewQ/pseuds/mewQ
Summary: "What a tragic tale for a girl painted to be a monster." A story in which you, the reader, take the role of Medusa from Greek Mythology...but, instead of being slayed by Perseus, you are spared by a deal struck in desperation.
Relationships: Medusa & Perseus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Medusa/Perseus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Original Character(s)/Reader, Original Male Character/Reader, Reader x OC
Comments: 11
Kudos: 58





	1. Prologue 1.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm new to writing on this site, so if I f up the formatting, I apologize in advance. m(_ _)m

"ᴸᶦᵗᵗˡᵉ ᴹᵉᵈᵘˢᵃ.

ᵀʰᵉʳᵉ ʷᵉʳᵉ ᵐᵃⁿʸ ˡᵉˢˢᵒⁿˢ ʸᵒᵘ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᶜᵒᵐᵉ ᵗᵒ ˡᵉᵃʳⁿ, ˢᵒᵐᵉ ᵒⁿˡʸ ᵗᵃᵘᵍʰᵗ ᵇʸ ᵉˣᵖᵉʳᶦᵉⁿᶜᵉ ᶠᵃʳ ᵇᵉʸᵒⁿᵈ ʷᵒʳᵈˢ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵖʳᵒᵛᶦᵈᵉ. ᴴᵒʷᵉᵛᵉʳ, ᵒᶠ ᵃˡˡ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵃʳⁿᶦⁿᵍˢ ᵍᶦᵛᵉⁿ, ᵗʰᵉ ᵒⁿᵉ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ʸᵒᵘʳ ˢᶦˢᵗᵉʳˢ ˢᵃⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵉ ˡᵒᵘᵈᵉˢᵗ ᵒᶠ ʷᵉʳᵉ ᵠᵘᶦᵗᵉ ˢᶦᵐᵖˡᵉ. 

"ᴰᵒ ⁿᵒᵗ ᶠᵃˡˡ ᶦⁿ ˡᵒᵛᵉ."

\---------------------------------

### "The Part Where They Are Still Happy"

_**Your Perspective;** _

_Sarpedon | ??? | Age: 10 Summers Old_

A little island, full of little happenings. The flowers that never wilt, even when the weather starts to turn, the rhythmic lapping waves against polished rock beaches, and a home created so differently from the ones you have seen painted into dreams within your favorite memories. Such beauty balanced on a precarious ledge, safety as the counterweight. Though it has been as much a cage as it has been a shelter, you'll miss the melancholy of it all so dearly.

"Medusa," Your sister breaks you away from your serendipity. "Your eyes possess such a longing, that, when left unbounded by reality, turns all little birds given flight into thirsting Icarus's."

Stheno has always been so quick to a point. So quick to make decisions that once molded, never crack. A cold demeanor always painted in pair by stern wisdom. Her thinking is sharp, and direct, and strikes more harshly than the vipers on her head. But for all the bite behind her words, she possesses a care for you that knows no bounds. Even if she might refuse to admit it outright.

"I just want to be bathed in sunlight," You speak as you stretch your arms towards the sky, climbing atop a mound of rocks, a yearning reaching your fingertips. Turning to face your dear sister, you offer her a sweet, genuine smile. "I promise not to be blinded by its warmth."

She lets out a sigh, but you can see the faintest hint of a resolved smile turning upon her lips. Reaching out, her impressive height almost comical by the difference, she ruffles through your (hair color) locks with her delicate talons - a rarely given affectionate gesture.

"I know." She sighs again. "You've grown up to be such a responsible girl." It's people that I fear of for you.

“I have only you two to thank for that.” Words with honest affection.

Your sister softens, almost imperceptibly so, and turns her back to you. It seems she has more to say on the matter, but the moment seems to pass. Apparently not wanting to deal with more emotional prose, she opts to press on to practicality instead. It’s typical of your sister, and you can’t help but smile, the familiarity of it all tugging fondly at your heart - you know these encounters will be missing from your life in the days to come.

“When will the ship be arriving?" 

"It should be here very soon!"

You work to contain the excitement wracking through your body, but its spills over until you launch yourself into wrapping your arms around sister's scaled torso. While it is forbidden for ships to dock remotely within boundary of Sarpedon, unless the souls willingly forfeit protection from the Gods, you have managed to strike a deal with a rather desperate mercenary captain awhile back. He will be waiting just beyond the northern boundary and you will take a small craft out to meet it. 

"Then it's but a three day journey until we reach the port."

"..Has Eurayle seen you off?" Your sister mouths the words into a question, but both of you know that she already had the answer.

"..No." And just like that, your excitement mounting from before flies into the sun. "I understand her anger, but it's just that..I just.. I wish I could say goodbye." Your voice is small as you turn your eyes to the ground, these words in particular hard to voice.

Your second sister had always been very vehemently against you ever stepping foot off this island, and as your journeys to the mainland began, her disapproval turned from defiance to unrelenting outrage. Now that you'll be leaving to become an official priestess of Athena, she has refused to see you at all in present passing.

You love your sisters more than anything in life, but you know that your future is not here, can not be here, for the blessing you have been given would be selfishly squandered, so the blow is doubly hard to accept.

"Well, she shall be the one to suffer from her consequences in the coming days." She pinches at her snout-like nose. “She is already of regret, but this is a lesson for her to learn as well.”

”Then I truly can’t say farewell?”

”Beings make decisions for themselves, and sometimes those decisions then are made for you. Eurayle is prone to compulsion instead of contemplation, and for that she will stick to her instinct even if it crashes around her.”

”Ah, so no.” You frown. “Truthfully, I knew it would turn out this way, I just feel responsible. She just wants to protect me in her own way, and I’m fleeing from her arms.” You fight back the liquid threatening to spill from your (eye color) eyes. 

”Not fleeing, Medusa, flying.” She gently tugs you off of her and holds out your arms. “Before you’re crushed by the world’s opinion before you have seen it from above and below.”

Your sister’s words are murky as always, but they hit a note that resounds. This island is a place where the world is formed from a reflection pool - your sisters have raised you, the child of primordials who long to feast upon the world, with ironic fairness. To judge the world for your own, to form the people’s character into casts of your own, to think of the path that forms the morality on your own. They are contradictions suited to irony, but they sculpt a life of neither truths nor lies.

They are kind, and gentle, and horrible creatures. They soothe your fears and kiss your tears, and they devour mortal men. They paint stories of love and sing notes of happiness, and laugh at the fear of dying men’s faces. When asked the reason behind the ever twisting duality, they simply reply that they have accepted what the world has chanced them to be - monsters. It’s not a curse, nor a blessing, it’s not fortune or bad luck, they are simply are what they are.

You don’t really understand, but you have much to learn. Perhaps one day too you will curse their existence as the sailors do, but for now you know only their kindness, and fear the sides that harbor such hatred, love when you catch a glimpse of people smiling, and weep when you see their unmarked graves. One world of their’s belongs to you, the other hidden behind a silver reflection. They make you dreadfully sad, but they have raised you to be allowed to be so. 

“The ship is here.” You sister once against cuts you off from your spiral of thoughts.

“You know that I can’t leave these shores, and the time has expired from the point where they have any bearing on your journey, but if you can, head only this my dear sister; Mortals, Gods, and Monsters - They all have circumstances in which they can’t escape, but never fall for pretty words that promise that they are more than they are made up to be.” 

A small laugh escapes you, but you’re quick to correct it. You promise yourself to take the words to heart, and to reflect upon their meaning in the days to come. It’s not the words that are making you grin, it’s that your sister was always gifted in riddles that only seemed to come to you after their usefulness came true.

“I love you, Stheno.”

”....The ship is waiting, Medusa.”

You can only grin. So many emotions are flooding you, but you know that this is a step that must be taken before you fall to a place where the sun is hidden from view.

Picking up your small satchel containing all the items you call your own, you breathe in, then take your first step towards a new life. 

“Thank you for everything.”

And with that, you don’t dare turn back.

~~~

_Stheno's Perspective;_

”Thank you for everything.”

And then she was gone.

”I love you, too.” Words that she couldn’t say before spill from her lips. Fear that she would, in what would be the most irrational moment of her life, tell her not to leave.

Her human, mortal sister, the irony of it all enough to make her laugh, born by the same primordials and somehow crafted from the same flesh, but a mold cast new altogether. Mortals, of all things, so frail, and useless, and always begging to die.

For whatever fate that had granted her sister the way of humanity, it had also gifted her with a curse.

Beautiful by even the God’s standards, clever, and so kind-hearted... In this world, it was a combination beyond dangerous. It was a death sentenced for no crime to atone to. For in this world of Gods and Men, monsters exist in clarity, machinations that lead to fated endings, but the motivations hidden behind pretty faces and smiling tongues were...Wretched.

But she was gone, and it had to be so. For all her weaknesses, she was strong. And she has time to learn. If she stayed any longer in this pretty cage, she too would turn into a consequence of nothing more than existence. 

....“Make your mark in this world, dear sister. I hope to never see you again.”


	2. Prologue 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author's Note:** (Last A/N for awhile.) If you are unfamiliar with the myth and the story is hard to keep track of/confusing, I promise it will make sense as it continues. The prologue is just to give glimpses into the lives and personalities of the characters before they become the people they are, but their histories will be revealed naturally and gradually in the future without you needing to know the original myth or lore. If this was a tradition novel, I would start it at Chapter 1 of this story (which is coming up soon), but I wanted to show their younger selves in this format. :)

His Perspective;

Seriphos | Meanwhile | Age: 8 Summers Old

_The tethered ports that are dusted with ghosts of vessels old and new, buildings that stretch and grow against those bitter storms, and people who live each day sculpting their lungs into salt-bitten statues. In a fishermen's village, the belonging ticks into place that blends in with the landscape._

__

__

_Perhaps that is why the boy's misfit contrast of it all stood out all the more sharply. For he did not bleed of the sea - he swallowed lightning._

~~~

"Do you not fret for him?" An abrupt question. The man had been lost in his mind, pacing his small fisherman's hut with no purpose, and only now has let his trepidation bubble forth into solidity. The woman, who too had been lost in thought, looks up from her crafting.

"Perseus?" She asks, but it is already answered. Her hands once again find the braids of rope, a practiced motion built into memory. "In what sense?"

"In the sense of his future." He sighs. "In the sense of his being." 

The man fidgets with his tool for a moment before getting caught once again in his words and resuming his restlessness. "The other children are half in love with him, you know, but he rejects seemingly any interaction. In fact, the only companion that seems to keep his attention is that moth-eaten creature." Each word spoken is quickened upon his lips. A long-stemming habit - to scratch at his point with worrying trepidation, unknowing how to reach the point. 

A small laugh escapes the woman's lips. Her blue eyes are bright, and clear, and they too contrast against the faded dullness of this sleepy village. "Do you mean his cat?"

"If you can call it that." He mutters and rubs at his eyebrow. "Mangy thing." But this is how it always is, a distraction. She doesn't like these words that ring of truth. So he needs to cut the dance before the song changes tunes.

"But that's beside the point, Danae - he is a _cold_ child. And from such a young age. What will he get out of life without companionship? To what purpose does a person have if it's spent alone?"

Another laugh, this time a bit more unfettered, crosses the boundary of her smile. “I thank you for your concern, Dictys. My son is certainly a child of his own.” She is amused by her own words, by the sounds her tongue makes. “But he is sharp, and he is kind, and his sense of justness bleeds beating into his heart. He is not alone, he has you and I.”

A prolonged pause. The woman holds four mischievous fingers to her lips, a conspiring grin. “Not to mention, he possesses my unsurpassed good looks, ohoho~”

If he had been sighing before, the air currently voiding Dictys’ lungs is enough to fill Olympus with breathe. “My mistake, to think that I could say one valid concern for my nephew in your presence. How foolish of me.” The boy's appearance was another point - he took after his mother in many ways alright, from his fair hair so light it almost reflected snow-fall set against dark brows, or the curve of his lips, but those brazen eyes the color of an angry sun set against a cloudless sky. _Blinding._ They were the unmistakable eyes of a God. 

Reaching forwards to grasp his hand, she shakes her head and resolves a look of determination. Her legs may not have mobility, but the shack only stretches within small enough confines to make the action less than an arm’s journey.

”No, I truly appreciate your words." This time it is her who sighs. "My son’s future is uncertain, but it exists only because of you.” _A woman found floating in a chest at sea, on the brink of death with a newborn babe, sentenced to a watery death by a powerful King. His kindness did not far outpace foolishness._ For that she could never repay him, but that is also why she refuses to yield.

Letting her arm drop back to her lap, she presses on. “Truthfully, I do worry for his nature, for his psyche, but his life is one that will lead far beyond what we can understand. I wish for him to always remain safe here, dependent on not the cruelty of fellow men. The weight already cast upon his small shoulders, chasing the burden of a prophecy."

It's a topic she steers clear from, regardless of the walls it builds. She is a dead Queen, she is a forlorn Daughter, but she is also an unyielding Mother. She will not apologize for problems she refuses to see. 

"His happiness, no matter where he finds it, is all I can ask.”

 _"But, you shield him. You wish to let him roam down paths that lead to ends of ruin, just so he can stay beside you. Love can be too suffocating, can be dangerous, my dear friend. It can become something to hide behind."_ Words he wants to say, words that he knows he should say. But he can't get them out. Her willful blinders, his cowardly affection. The flaws that make them human.

Instead, he opens his mouth and says, "I know it is. Shall I prepare the stew?"

~~~

A glimpse into his words;

Beneath the shade of a Laurus Nobilis, glabrous smooth leaves forming a curtain from the world, he lays sprawled on curled grass. A tangled ball of grey rises and falls with every breathe he takes, curled against the warmth atop his chest. A small, half-lid of a smile breaks that ever-solid line along his face as he gazes at the cat's sleeping face. "So cute." 

Just like this, he needs just a moment. Just a moment where the wind reaches, and the thoughts are silent, and that wrenching sun is shielded from view. Just one.

"Hey, χρυσό αγόρι!*" 

And just like that, it's broken.

An older boy, with heavy-set frame and a sturdy build, ruddy dusted cheeks puffing as he walks, is already making his way up the hill that marks his reprieve. He is a child from the village - possessing the same fretted look in his eyes of those resigned to these shores - that very much reminds him of a clucking chicken in his manner. The younger boy expends just enough energy to flick his eyes over towards the figure, ‘Gelos’ being his name if remembered correctly, before resuming his motivated task of doing nothing. 

"I am speaking to you!" 

Perseus finally focuses his gaze on the warbling figure with the faintest hint of dissatisfaction. It seems the older boy has used all his energy burning some quelling frustration over in his mind. How piteous this scene. "Yes." _Unfortunately._ "Why?" _'Indignant rage, he doesn't hide it well', he thinks._

"Do you want me to bash that pretty face of your's?" Gelos expires the words as his hands rest against his knees, stealing breathe into his lungs only to expel it into words of hot air. "I c-came up here to tell you t-to stay away from Ariadne," Ah, so over a village girl's affections. "But your lack of propriety is making me want to give you a good beating. Even before, do you think you're so above us that you can just spurn their attempts at befriending you?" Having finally gathered his replenished energy, he crosses his arm expectantly. 

"..So which is it?" 

"What?"

Cradling his cat in one arm, now awoken from the scene, Perseus turns to rest his face on his hand at stares up at the boy through long lashes. "You said you wish for me to stay away from Ariadne, but she wants for my attention. So, shall I give it to her?" He pauses, unblinking. "Or shall I 'spurn her attempts?'" There is no amusement, no accusatory tone, only a straight-forward gaze, now un-amused by his companion's sleep-cut-short. 

"! Well!" His face is already flushing more red, whether because of the anger or embarrassment of a young love would remain unknown. "Well, I, you!"

Perseus gazes as his stuttering stretches on for a moment longer, the chuffed noises breaking his long fled silence, before deciding to finally end the poor soul’s turmoil. 

"Hm. So, then, you have your answer." _How annoying._ Done with the interruption, finality stamped into place, he turns back to stare at the flickering leaves above. Their unmovable dance casts shadows that never need entertain worry nor want. The cat occupying his forearm lets out a belated yawn and moves to rub at his face, balancing precariously across his chest. 

Gelos raises an accusatory finger at the events, more to say pressing at his lips, but he instead opts to turn on his heels with anger laced behind each step. Truthfully he had been acting on impulse - he had heard Ariadne and the other girls gossiping about the golden-eyed boy, affectionate but intrigued by his solitude, and then his feet had been carrying him off to the hill that he could often be found atop. He hadn't known what he had expected from the interaction, but it wasn't this, and the infuriating nonchalance elicited from the other party was making his blood turn hot. 

"I do not understand what she sees in you." Gelos mutters as his parting words, resolution not wavering but lidded in the moment. 

_"And what she doesn't see in me." That's what you want to say, isn't it?_ Perseus thinks. He really should refrain, but he's still but a boy, and his tongue can't help but mouth the words. Cutting straight to the point, he offers, "It's because you lack a 'pretty face.’" 

He is already halfway down the hill, but Gelos whirls around, fists clutched into strained balls, only to be met by that blithe grin etched into a line on the now-stretching younger boy's mouth. He has half a mind to march right back up there and make good of his threat, but he knows he will be punished. Possessing that foresight, at the very least, he instead opts to shoots him once last glare before stomping down the trodden path. 

Perseus knows why the boy's action were placed into motion, the feelings behind it, but he can't grasp them with his own fingers. 

He sighs, but all his annoyance is once again swept away by the object of his attention. Holding the grey ball above his head, he peers into a sleepy eye. She, on the other hand, is so real.

"So much for your nap."

_Soon he will have to return to his uncle's hut, to the village where people know their place and never wish to change, to resigned fates. But for now, on this hill, he is but a child who sleeps where the sun doesn't shine its depriving gaze, where he isn't destined to become less and more, and where his companion that never wants for other than who he is to offer is with contentment. No gods, no men, no monsters._

_For now, he is just a boy._

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Means "Golden Boy" in Greek, he's using it as a petty insult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus; Meet the Characters - Perseus
> 
> (The following are the notes I have in my notes on Perseus' Character Profile. They are a good look into what to expect from his personality when he's all growed' up. :,) If you prefer to learn about a character's temperament/characteristics through a natural progression instead, however, I would not recommend reading the following text. You will not be missing anything related story-wise.)
> 
> _Perseus - "Loved by many, known by few." He is a bit cold, intimidating, and distant. When he does speak on matter, he can come across as arrogant, confident, quick-to-point-out-flaws (aka. a dead-pan snarker), and cruel in his words, though he knows how to play the game of putting on a social mask if the situation calls for it. Despite that, or maybe because of that (ಠ_ಠ <\- author staring into your soul here), he has a plethora of admirers - to which he pays absolutely no attention. He is very perceptive - both situationally and socially - ....though that does not mean he acts in accordance. With regards to his initial demeanor, he also has an enigmatic, bright, air about him that draws people in and makes him easy to see as the luminary, heroic figure he is portrayed to be. Intricate traits that almost bleed contradiction. _
> 
> _Actions speaking, he usually doesn't interfere with things unless they require his involvement or that are part of his plans, which can make him seen frivolous at times, others rumor he finds it amusing to see how things unfold, but in the end he is a very capable and responsible leader. Despite first impressions, he can be an empathetic individual, understanding other people's emotions very well, an ironic dance of both being harsh and just. He ultimately seeks a world better for all the people in it, and for that goal he is willing do anything it takes, any means necessary. Though flawed, he lives to the name of being a hero through and through, even if it requires him being a villain._
> 
> _On a more intimate note, he also has a surprising side that likes to playfully tease people he is truly close to, which is almost a net of zero. He has many odd quirks, he low-key (*cough* high-key *cough*) loves cute things, and can be surprisingly very playful, childish, you'll also see some light-hearted snark battles, and protective/jealous (it comes with the territory of this genre ha), in contrast when with a certain person *wink wonk* (hint; it's you). Has very rare glimpses of vulnerability. Becomes the mask trope so hard. He has his own fears, and insecurities, and flaws that too will develop through the story._


	3. Prologue 3.

Your Perspective;

Athens | 6 Years Later | Age: 16 Summers Old

What makes a mortal, and what a God? What a monster, and what a man? 

\---------------------------------

"The Part Where it All Changes"

Thargelion (Θαργηλιών) / (May/June) - Spring (Ἔαρ)

_Today is the last day of Plynteria (πλυντήρια) - Feast of the Bath - a festival in honor of Athena herself. It takes place on Athen's Acropolis, which is built above the city on a big hill, and is a 'citadel'/area for a lot of temples/buildings related to the Gods. This festival requires some of her priestesses (plyntrídes) to perform a cleansing ritual in The Erechtheion, a sanctuary building dedicated both to her and Poseidon, while other specific priestesses - praxiergidai (πραξιεργίδαι) - work in her temple to cleanse her statue and wash/replace its clothes and delicate ornaments. (During this time her temple is strictly closed and hidden from view to prevent communications with her, and to protect her statue's dignity from prying eyes.) While both jobs are coveted, you are quite happy for your own duty - left to neither such device, instead tasked simply with offering blessings to the patrons enjoying the festivities._

A breeze swirls the bustling of the crowd up, and up, and up, until it is sculpted not of laughter, but composed into notes from the lyre's music. Normally the people of Athens are proud, and focused, and live life for 'next time' instead of 'currently'. But that is all swept away when it comes to a time for the Gods.

The people gathered here on the Acropolis are mirthful, and joyous, and the warm faces and filled bellies from the processions that carry hegetoria (ἡγητορία)(dried figs) and honeyed milk. On these days, it's not wrath of living, wrought with work and worry, it's of hope, and dreams, and blessings transformed into promise.

You take a deep breathe and close your eyes, soaking in the peace of it all. You first came to Athens three years ago, previously spending the years traveling through your journeys as a priestess, and immediately fell in love with the vigor of the citizens; with their warmth, with their passion. Your heart belongs to the Athena - the one you so admire as a wielder of justness - and to her people. Your heart belongs here, to your home.

Finally letting the moment go, your scan the crowd again only to catch sigh of a well-crafted scene. Many pairs of spectators glance at you from the activity, some in admiration, some in envy, but you can only attend your focus on a young boy - no older than nine or ten - as he stumbles into a tall, well-dressed man, before falling to the stone pavement. The man reaches down to offer the boy a hand up, but the younger one smiles, gets up on his own volition, and makes off into the crowd.

Most people would ignore his _plight >/em>, but a watchful gaze and compulsion to act are qualities that you happen to be in possession of. Easily stepping through the throngs of beings, a graceful dance of agile feet that winds through the movements, you catch the _poor soul_ by his arm. He is thin, even for a growing boy of his nature, his skin is tanned from the sun but has a pale undertone to it that makes you question his health, and his frame is much smaller than you first thought._

__

He whirls his sharp, brown eyes to you, but they immediately soften- a hopeless blush creeping upon his lightly freckled cheeks soon following- as he catches sight of your face. "U-um, can I help you?" He asks, furiously attempting to ignore his stumbling tongue in the face of his captor. You offer him a kind smile in turn.

__

"I was going to ask you the same. Are you alright? I saw your fall back there and was concerned for your health."

__

With this, the boy crosses his arms and stands taller, longer, the childish pride of youth gleaming unrestrained from his aura. It's almost palpable. He has fluffy, brown hair that sticks out in several different directions, and in this moment it seems to animate with every expression made."It would take more than a mere stumble to injure me! I'm very strong you know." That blaze grin never leaves his face, his chest puffing out in comical exaggeration with every syllable.

__

"Ah, is that so?" You keep that same, sweet smile plastered to your lips. "Then, I am most relieved. But-“ Pausing, you tap your lips for a second before clapping your hands together. "Oh! I know! May I offer you a blessing of Athena, at least, for your troubles?"

__

"Sorry, miss, but-"

__

Not missing a beat, you put a forlorn hand to your forehead, glancing down at him through sorrowed lashes, a pout gracing your lips. "Please? It would go lengths to ease my mind."

__

He pauses, but something seems to be weighing on him. "I really am sorry but I-"

__

_"A blessing of great strength."_ You amend quickly, lightly grasping his hand. You have to catch the laugh threatening to spill from your throat because with those words, all is abandoned and he instantly perks to the occasion.

__

"Welllll, I guess it's alright." 

__

"Perfect!" You smile. "May I have your name?"

__

"'Don't have one." The words are a little too quick.

__

"That's alright, I’m sorry for the sudden question. Well, then, I shall begin. Just hold your arms out like this," You gently guide his arms until they are outstretched to either side of him, a flightless bird grounded in this moment, "And repeat after me." 

__

"I," You begin, gently tapping his head.

__

"I," he repeats.

__

"Am a most ferocious-" You press on, continuing to move with your hands, now gently tapping his sides.

__

"..Am a most ferocious-" 

__

"Kitten." Sprinkling a dash of blessed water over his head, and offering another clap, you finish. "Hear my mighty roar."

__

"..Um, wh-"

__

"Oh, I know it sounds quite farcical, but I do promise it has deep meaning of the upmost importance. The Gods work in mysterious ways." Waving him on with your hand, nothing that would ever betray a lack of seriousness in your challenging eyes or tone, you tuck the vial back into your chiton. A prolonged pause from the boy stalls, a wavering moment, but one look into your [eye color] orbs and he resigns to his fate. Sighing, he opens his mouth.

__

"...A-am a f-ferocious...k-k-...kitten." The last part is barely a whisper, his face already blooming crimson, eyes trained to the ground.

__

"..."

__

"What?" He asks.

__

You only offer an expectant look.

__

"Oh. Oh no."

__

Now it is you who refuses to yield.

__

"...." He won't even lift his face to meet your's. But he is a brave one, this kid. 

__

"...ROAR." It squeaks from his mouth, far louder than he had anticipated and a few people turn their heads in judgement. 

__

You clap your hands, satisfaction beaming through visage. "I can rest much better now, thank you." The boy, perhaps now contemplating his life, blushes at the praise but the shame from just a moment ago is still burning, blinding. "Well, um, ...t-thank you for that. I have to be off now but-"

__

He freezes. His hands roam to his pockets. Then they move. Then they’re searching. His efforts pick up energy, frantic, until panic sets in. 

__

"Looking for something?" Your smile is still sweet. ..On the surface. Dangling a delicately intricate, and expensive, amulet with one hand, and resting your chin in the other, you bat your eyes with amusement.

__

"Hey!! That's mine!" He yelps and makes to grab at the accessory. Oh he is quick, but you are far quicker. Closing your fingers over the precious stone, you raise the contents of calculated digits above your head. "Oh, really?" A challenging frown, though mirth still dances in your eyes. "If simple possession makes ownership, then, it's mine now, is it not?"

__

"You. Y-you sorèlle*!" (*Old mummy, basically. :-) ) Shocked fury. "I worked hard for that!"

__

"Oho, as did I." 

__

There seem to be many thoughts prancing through the jungles of his mind. Emotions, too, entangled in the thoughts. Indignant seems the first to win the raging fight. "Wait, if you knew, then just now! The r-roar!"

__

There it is again, your innocent smile. 

__

"...” An impresses flare is hurled back. “Then, what, you're to report me now?" He tries hard to hide it, but his age betrays it as he finally asks the question. The warbling notes of fear are catching in his throat but he is trying so hard to ignore them. The punishment for thievery depends heavily on the official making the call, and the mood they happen to possess in the moment, but the outcome can be quite.. gruesome. Especially for an item so high in monetary value, and a thief judged to be not.

__

"If you were aware that there might be such consequences, why did you fall upon them anyways?" You might ask the question, but you already know.

__

And as expected, there's no answer.

__

"I guess I have no choice but to-" You begin and let the moment stretch on while the boy is unmoving, his head aimed towards Hades with a magnetic pull as if compelled by the God himself. Finally, have letting the severity of it all sink in, you release the smallest sigh. Bending down to one knee, you ruffle his dark sand-bitten locks with an easy caress. "-have you return this lost amulet to that poor, misfortunate man.” You finally add. “What luck that you found it, and in this crowd, oh my." 

__

His head snaps up like a pulled band. This time, the tears manage to spill as he takes in the meaning of your words. He launches his arms around your neck for a brief moment, sniffling, before releasing to try to play the action off. It seems he still has some of that pride. "Well, I am super astounding." That boyish confidence. “How lucky you are to be in my presence."

__

Unamused. So umamused. "And now, I suddenly have the urge to change my mind." Your words are playful, but he doesn't seem to catch that. Or he does, but he has no margin for doubt in the severity that befalls this. 

__

"No, wait!" He takes a deep breath and swallows courage. "Thank you. I-I don't know what,...I don't know why, but.. I..Thank you."

__

"There is one condition I have, however." Your fingers work to produce a small pouch from your satchel, fighting against the nagging sense of trepidation from your mind. Producing five minas*, (form of money equivalent to 100 drachmas, you could buy a small house for 4 minas for perspective) you clutch it tightly, squeeze your eyes shut, and place it gently into the boy's curious hand. 

__

His eyes transform into the moon, and he attempts to push them back to you as if they were made of burning venom, but you shake your hand and curl his little fingers around them slowly. You know yourself that this is not a very measured move, you had been saving this for many Summers to offer to your Goddess, but your heart is always your weakest heel. 

__

"Wh-"

__

"The condition," You press on, offering him a genuine smile this time, though it breaks with a complicated line. "Is to take these and to become first an apprentice - to any craft you choose so long as it’s an admirable one - and then to grow and become a truly 'astounding' man. It will be hard, and you will be tempted, but you will be honest, and you will be kind, and you will be proud of who you will become. That is your-" You hold up two fingers and offer perhaps a bit childish, just the tiniest, wink - "second punishment."

__

He seems to understand the implication of it all, because he can oddly nod through the rivers flowing along his cheeks. Small sobs wrack his body as he once again takes hold of your neck, his wet face making a mess of your former smooth [hair color] chignon. You wrap two arms around his fragile body, rubbing soothing circles with your palm, until they finally subside. 

__

"Thanking me for receiving a reprimanding, you're quite silly." Each word is fond. The moment finally broken, you return to your feet - your legs wobbling from kneeling so long - and offer him a hand. "Now, shall we go return this overpriced rock to its owner?"

__

The boy doesn't need to answer, because a man does in his stead. 

__

"No need, he's right here." 

__

The words are spoken in a faded accent that you can't quite place. Turning your head and moving the boy behind you, until he is out of view, your gaze meets the figure before you. He is unmistakably the man you saw the boy first clash with, but up close you can make out now how striking he is. Vibrant, olive skin, sharp features, long, black hair worn loose, and mischievous eyes that match the Sapphire blues of the amulet. Visually, he is very attractive. But.. his demeanor is something else - he wears an easy smile, the way he is postured belays a carefree attitude in the moment, but the look behind those windows is one of a cat that watches an injured bird - definitely the owner of an agenda all his own.

__

Your head is whirring, the click, click of pieces of cart put together before they continue down rocky terrain, attempting to determine just how much he has heard. 

__

"How fortunate I am that such a good samaritan happened across my dearest possession." His eyes are swimming in amusement. "In a world so rife with thieves no less," A glance to the boy peeking out from behind you, "I must be blessed."

__

You ignore the comment, the knowing smile of it all itching annoyance at your skin, and turn back to your young, brief companion. "It is starting to get rather late, you should return to your home. Do not forget what you are indebted to do, promise?" This is the goodbye. Your goodbye. 

__

He tightens the hand you have been holding and wants to say more, to stay longer, to know you - but your eyes are both commanding and pleading differently. Taking the cue, taking his first promised step, he nods with closed eyes. "I promise. I promise I'll make you proud." He has to bite his lip to prevent the tears from falling yet again, and so he turns away from for the finality. "I won't forget you." And with that, his quick feet are off, swallowed by the dwindling crowd. You watch his little form shrink, smaller and smaller, and can only hope that he escapes all odds of reality this life will stack immeasurable in his path.

__

"My, my, the hero is escaping." This man. Gods, help you. 

__

Gathering up all resolve, you force a smile onto your face. "Escaping, that's quite an interesting word of choice." You raise an practiced eyebrow but your mouth doesn't crack from it's upturned mold. "And from what, or whom," Both of you are fighting a war with knowing smiles, both challenging, "Would he be escaping from?"

__

"Hm, what an excellent question." A playful grin finally breaks. "The poor, innocent, extraordinarily good-looking, man who was mercilessly robbed now painted into a villain - what an amusing turn of events." 

__

You open your mouth to refute, though you’re not sure you can, he has a fair point, but he laughs instead. "Relax, I have no interest in petty punishments." He could have stopped there, he really could have. "I do have an interest in you, however." This time those eyes are serious, an edge to them lurking underneath those blue irises, as all hints of mirth fade from his mouth. He swallows you whole. 

__

Finally have affirmed that he is not serious about getting the boy in trouble, you let your guard fall off as you take a step backwards. An authentic smile of appreciation is compensated. "I apologize for the atmosphere from before and I thank you for your lenience." You hold out the item that has caused this. "But I must apologize sincerely, I'm quite afraid that your interest must go unanswered." As a priestess of Athena, romantic and sexual relations are forbidden. Even if they weren't, falling in love isn't on the forefront of your mind, not when the world has so much left for you to learn from, and so your rejections are always gentle but swift. "I'm sure such a good-looking man, such as yourself," Your words are just oozing playful sarcasm at this point, "Will be able to find a new interest soon enough. I wish you well in that endeavor.”

__

As he takes the pendant back, he doesn't seem phased in the slightest by your response. "Then may I ask for your name?"

__

You blink and turn your head over your shoulder, already starting to make your own escape from the scene. You could tell him, it would be so easy, but you have actually enjoyed the strange interaction with this peculiar man. But only the brevity of it all, so to keep it as it is, this will have to be your departure. "Hm, what an excellent question." Such a sweet, sweet smile, as you use his own words, and then you too walk away.

__

"..." The moment stretches, but then a bright, unbelieving laugh teases his lips. He watches your silhouette disappear before making his own departure from the Acropolis, already far behind a schedule he was meant to keep. 

__

_I didn't need to ask, Medusa._ When he arrived here, hearing about the enticingly beautiful priestess was easy gossip, and your name was a pretty accessible find. Being spurned for the first time in his life was an entertaining moment, along with the girl who gives everything she owns to a little beggar boy. _What an amusing girl, indeed._ "I pray fate let's us meet again."

__

~~~

__

**Warning!!:** The next section contains allusions/depictions of s*xual *ssualt. While it will be referenced in the future, this section is 100% skippable - the story will still make sense without it - if you are not comfortable reading it. I do not want to use this as a cheap plot point, only to give this injustice that takes place in the myth a voice, and plan to treat it with the upmost gravity it deserves going forwards, but please be safe first and foremost.

__

It has been a few hours since the festival has ended and the last of the other priestesses have departed. You volunteered to clean the flickers of remnants born from the event as a reason of your own - the view from this hill is one that should only be able to exist from the gods. The light dancing from lanterns and torches Athens below, bleeding into the faint beginnings of a star-dotted sky with searing reds, and purples, and golds, is one that grasps your heart.

__

You love the sun, it's unyielding warmth, but the place among the stars is inescapable. 

__

Breathing in the chilled air, you let the events of today wash over you in reflection. Two interesting souls briefly crossed paths, briefly intertwined, before they too were cut free. Another piece of woven tapestry that you so enjoy from this life of possibility - you see glimpses of other's crossed lines, you form judgement from those fragments, but ultimately their destinations and their beginnings are more than you can ever capture with your balanced thread. 

__

But enough ponderings that lead to dreams. Shaking your head, slapping your hands to your face and squishing your cheeks together in a bid to relinquish yourself from wandering thoughts, you stand up from your spot of contemplation at the base of the Erechtheion and decide to actually finish the tasks given to you.

__

Or, you would, if it weren't the man that wasn't there before.

__

It's a distinct feeling. The one that starts in your blood and runs cold, freezing, creeping up your veins and clawing it's way down your skin. It raises your hairs, the curves of your skin, as if your body is telling you to trust what you don't know to be true, but believe to be more than fact. The one that screams in the most primitive language to flee. With every muscle, every bone, to run far, far away and to never stop.

__

But it's a cruel one, too, because as much as it calls for such a familiar movement - just one step, then another, then another - is immobilizes you. Frozen, like your veins, like your blood, like your mind. Because as this man steps closer, and closer, you know it without words that he really isn't a man at all.

__

You had always wondered what a God must look like - because for what they are, they aren't the mortals you belong to, and they aren't the monsters you cherish so, and for that they must be distinct. And they are, they truly are.

__

For this God doesn't walk, he strides, like he has never known fear in his entire life. Like he has had never had reason to quicken his step, to reach for anything, any destination. He might be wearing a guise, as God's so often do from the stories your sisters would warn you against, but his figure is a little too large, a little too surreal in his movements, to really be a man. His eyes, you note as they stare you down, that you can see now with clarity, seem to glow. But not the beauty of the moon, and not the warmth of the sun - they glow like like those treacherous flames used to burn the remains of remnant sacrifices. Consuming, consuming, until nothing remains. You know who he is without him ever speaking a word.

__

"Medusa." It's one sound, a single one, but when spoken it breaks the air.

__

He's in front of you now, and finally, finally, you regain control of your foot. Stepping in time with his - one step forward, one step back - your mind begins to race faster than your heart. 

__

"Poseidon," You steel your voice with every ounce of will. You can't look away, you don't tremble, you can only stare him down. Stare into the eyes of a God. "It is a rare sight to see a God set forth before his very own temple, did you come to observe the festivities?" There is no smile, no platitudes, the words are sharp and direct. I know why you're here, and it will never happen. Is what they scream. Think, think, think.

__

Another step closer, another step back. Now your back is against the structure's wall. Caged. 

__

"I did, and I enjoyed them quite well. They have made me rather...excited." His mouth smiles in a way that curdles your stomach. "Seeing the mortals scurry about, it was all quite pleasant. And to see this Athens that dearest Athena took from me." Closer.

__

"But just my fortune, I've stumbled upon a treasure rarer than them all. I've been watching you - what a beautiful mortal you are, Medusa." You don't know how he knows your name, but the syllables don't sound right, sound horribly distorted, when they cross his lips. He is in front of you know, looming, as his hand reaches out curl his finger through a loose strand of your hair. "I want you to be mine."

__

That little feeling snaps. You have to be careful, you have to be measured, but just so. You push his hand away, a little to harshly to be anything more than a warning, and slip underneath his arms. Backing away, not daring to take your eyes off of him for a second, you shake your head. "I belong to only myself and Athena." Your words are hard and angled and solid. You won't apologize. Backing up, one step back and his one step forwards, you manage to keep the dance up long enough to reach her temple. "I am sure you know what that means, and what she might do if something of her's is taken away." It's a gamble, to use her name, but you have nothing else. You can only pray she hears your prayers. That the one you admire so, the one to whom you have devoted your life, can lend you her strength. 

__

The gamble doesn't work. Instead, the smallest hint of rage flickers over the God's face, a cruel, unnatural, smile shining through the bleeding sky. Before fading into a sick kind of mirth. "Do you think I hold fear of that lamentable woman?" Another step, another corner backed into. "I will grant you some wisdom, little mortal girl, not everything is at it painted to be." He talks as if though he is explaining the letters to a child, bored, resigned. "Your sense of righteousness and her sense of righteousness, well, let's just say that we have...different comprehensions.” He looks to his fingernails, than back to you. A pause in his pursuit for his little story. “The machinations of Gods before your understanding, before our compassion of you, is like... a farmer to a rabbit, in human comparisons. The farmer raises the rabbit, gives it shelter, and food, and watches it grow.” Menacing. “But, the little rabbit can be hung for slaughter, skinned and dried and devoured - never to be thought of again.” Another step. “Or, it can be kept in a child's arms for amusement, until they too outgrow the moment, and too are forgotten. Even still, I think it might prefer the embrace, don't you?" You don't want him to speak them, the words. You don't want to hear them. "And now, dear Medusa, I want to play."

__

He is upon you before you have time to think, his arms locking around your own. You push with all your might, but they won't budge, not even an inch, and the movement works only to increase your panic. You can smell salt, so different from the waves of the beach, and feel his hair as it brushes against your face. You can feel his lips, like slugs as they press against your own, and feel hot breathe against your cheeks.

__

It's disgusting, vile.

__

You bite down as hard as you possibly can until the smell of iron fills your mouth. You're not sure if Gods actually bleed blood, or if it's just from the form he takes, but you don't care in this moment. It's enough to make him let you go, just for a moment, and you push with all your might you run further into the temple - your only hope of rescue. "Athena, please, I ask for you strength!!" You shout with no cares, your voice strained, even as it shakes, even as it cracks, it is strong. The second passes before you are slammed onto the cold tiles, head reeling, your ears ringing as they begin to numb from the pain of the fall. 

__

"You bit me, you k*na!" He spits the words as he pins you down. "I'm bleeding!" His words fade out as your head swims in and out, the world draining away. The minutes pass, at least you think they do, in a blurred mute of the world.

__

Then the temple begins to shake. 

__

A light, blinding, flashes throughout the building before settling into another figure. This one is large, at least twice the size of any man you have seen before, and she too seems to stride with every step. She, a presence that commands authority, she, who is but muscle and sinew sewn into form, she who too has blinding eyes. 

__

"Poseidon, you dare defile my temple?" Her voice thunders, doesn't hesitate, as it too shakes the foundation of the building.

__

"Athena." The thing on top of you gets to his feet, rubs at his bleeding lip, fixes his garments, before growing too into the same height as the Goddess before him. He glares at her, anger seething through those eyes, before vanishing without so much as another word. Whether from rage or fear of repercussion, you do not know.

__

Her face stares down to you, not emotion readable on the lines of face, before you can see them morph. It's slow, in the moment, until all at once you see it. Contempt.

__

"And you." Your mind is numb, so numb, but you hear the words through the fog. She pulls her peplos off in one swift motion, dropping it beside you, as if to say cover yourself up. "You follow me for my justice, do you?" The words bury deeper, and deeper. Your lifes and its devotion crumble with them. "The girl who allows a thief to go unpunished in the Athens of my name, in its laws? Allowing herself to lack any sense of awareness as she uses my festival of my name for selfish purposes?" She isn't impassioned, she is empty. "'My" priestess, defiling my temple, with him?" She closes her eyes, and when they open, they are bitter, and cold, and sting as the air around you. 

__

"Since you called for me, I shall answer. To prevent yourself from such foolishness, I will bestow upon you a gift." Her hands reaches out towards you as if she were scolding a street mutt caught rifling through her wares. A feeling of angry coals burying deep into your scalp suddenly overtakes you, washing out the rest of her words. "Use it wisely."

__

You aren't sure when she disappears, what shes said before she left, or what the meaning behind the parting signified. You aren't really sure of anything. But, as the pain rolls over you, as you finally scream until your voice too fades with pain, as you feel your eyes turn into those vast deserts; 

__

_You learn what it means to truly curse the Gods._

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N (Srry,I lied, I rlly like A/N’s):
> 
> :(
> 
> In regards to Athena; I promise she isn't a one-dimensional bad-guy. She plays a huge part in this story in the future and her characterization/understanding/development of her character is expanded upon a lot.
> 
> Also, just to clarify because it might be a bit confusing - that man with the necklace wasn’t Poseidon. 
> 
> Side note: I accidentally deleted a huge chunk of this (I write in a different program and then paste it) and kinda raged my way through the re-writing. RIP. I want a nap.
> 
> Thank you again for the support, and sorry for such a horrific note to end on this time.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Author's Note:**
> 
> If you're unfamiliar with the myth and a little lost, the human Medusa has two gorgon sisters. In this story, she was raised until the age of ten by them before the "first" events of the myth are set in motion. This story loosely follows the original mythos, and incorporates a lot of other mythology going forwards. But it also involves more courts, and scheming, and princes, and gods, and romance, and angst. So much angst. It just needs to be built up a little.
> 
> Medusa is the set name of the MC for story purposes, but it’s definitely a reader insert with descriptions up to you. Warning: This story does get dark.
> 
> :) Updates at least once a week!  
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
>  **Bonus: ******
> 
> _"How could you say that?!” A voice screeches._
> 
> _”Ah, Eurayle, I knew you were watching. Are you satisfied with your decision?”_
> 
> _”Of course not!!” The younger gorgon protests. “I had...so, so many words. But, sending her off to live amongst mortals? I would rather perish.”_
> 
> _”Well, your voice still pierces the air, so it seems that neither scenario belays us.”_
> 
> _”You’re vile. I also knew that if I made her stay, which I very well could have, that I would have ruined her. Either way, we are void of a victor.”_


End file.
